The Fate of Toa Naho
by Kagha
Summary: First ever BIONICLE fic / Toa Naho discovers something nobody else knows, and has the experience of a lifetime when she gets involved in issues between three of the most dreaded forces in the universe. Orig. post date: 30/7/08


Sunset fell over the distant horizon overlooking the island city of Metru Nui, as the Twin Suns quenched their light and began to make their departure behind the edge of the sea. Clouds began to form rapidly and shroud the sky, filtering the dimmed light and casting the heavens into a beautiful radiance of orange, purple and blue, a soothing sight for perhaps even the darkest of beings. 

From between the streets of Ga-Metru, the purified waters of the canals gleamed with reflection of the sunset, creating an almost perfect mirror of the sky, catching the city in an aura that felt as if it were caught between an open space in the sky. A faint mist ran above the smooth protodermis roads of the metru, like the atmosphere of a miniature world. 

Naho smiled as she treaded across a bridge that arced over the rushing flows of one of the canals of the metru. She had always had a fondness of Ga-Metru; and not only because it was the native district of her class, but because it was the most serene cities of Metru Nui. It was cool, quiet, calm, and verdant…everything one could want in an urban region. She personally did not like the other metrus as much as she did the City of Water; Ta-Metru was too cluttered and usually the process of its workers left it in a cloud of rank smoke; Po-Metru was too hot, vast, and empty; Onu-Metru was a protodermis jungle; Le-Metru was technologically overloaded; and Ko-Metru was too…bright; to be honest. 

But Ga-Metru? Ga-Metru was just right.  
>Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of stone crunching against stone, and Naho instinctively drew her Tidal Staff in a defensive stance. She surveyed her surroundings with a cautious eye. Experience told her to stay put, not to make a sound, and to especially not call out, or ask, "Who's there?" <p>

If it were a foe, then making any imprudent actions would alert it of her presence. Sometimes, the enemy already knew where you were, but Naho didn't want to take that chance. 

Lhikan had warned her of the situation last night after the suns had gone down and nightfall had taken the city. He'd gathered the rest of the team as well, and briefed them on what needed to be done. At first, Naho was shocked of what was happening, but at the same time pleased to be going back to attend her own metru. But neither factor would distract her from her main objective. 

Another sound broke the silence, but instead of a crunching stone, it was a liquid hissing, like water being sucked through a vacuum. Naho clenched her teeth, slowly turning her head and scanning every possible hiding place, every shadowy corner with vigilant eyes. 

"Toa of Water." Hissed a voice that seemed to come from all around her and resonate through the area. Naho felt her heartflashes quicken. The voice sounded again: "So you are here, finally. I have been waiting for you." 

Naho knew she still had to keep silent. Whoever was speaking might've known she was here, but if he…or it…didn't know exactly where she was, she might have an advantage. 

"Don't give me the silent treatment, Toa," said the voice, as if reading her mind. "I know where you are. I always know where you are. You cannot escape me." 

Naho knew it was probably better to maintain silence longer, but if her and this strange being were going to ensue in a fight, then there was no sense delaying it. "Who are you?" She called out.  
>"Your Toa of Fire told you of my being, didn't he? Last starlight?" The voice said. "I am what you Toa dread most, the subject in which Matoran tell each other to keep themselves tucked in bed at night. I am but a myth to you but, oh, I am real. I am older than the universe itself, even older than the one named Tren Krom…I am the fundament of being. I am the Ancient One." <p>

Naho winced. "You haven't a name?" 

"My name is the wind. My name is the water. My name is the soil beneath your feet, the sunlight that shines upon your sea, the sky that domes above you. I have many names. Light. Shadows. Fire. Ice. Earth. Stone. Sound. Magnetism. Gravity. Air. Foliage. Electricity. …And even water. I am all the elements and more. Their names are mine. I am them, and they are me." 

"You're saying that _you_ are the incarnation of this world?" Naho scoffed. "Do not make me laugh." 

"Look at your hands, Naho," the voice said suddenly. Naho did- though she was not sure that she herself willed this action. Her arms reached out without her exact command, and her fingers opened, dropping her staff onto the bridge, where it rolled twice before halting upon the cool stone. 

The armor of her gauntlets began to shift, and vibrate, and pulse with a life of their own. She felt the physical energy drain out of herself into an elemental feat, and a fountain of water rose from her hands, creating a tall, round capsule of the bluish liquid that froze in mid-motion and somewhat resembled a Mata Nui Stone. 

Then a face formed in the capsule- a maskless face, with hollow, emotionless eyes and the vague contour of a nosepiece. The mouth of the face opened and the waters deeper inside of the capsule began to ripple and vibrate, generating sound. "I am your being. I am the being of your water, of your armor, of your staff. I am the being of this city. I am not physical…I am physics." 

Naho willed herself to dismiss the capsule, and the water drained back into her hand. Fighting the command of this strange being, she reached down and picked her staff back up.  
>"You may have the ability control a body, creature, but you cannot control a mind. Now show yourself." <p>

"Were you not listening? You are looking at me right now. You are looking through me. I am everything you see. If I were not there, nothing would be." 

Naho blinked. "Why are you here?"  
>"Your Toa of Fire…" <p>

"Lhikan said that you were Avarinika. Lately, seismic events have been happening under the Coliseum. The magnetisms of chutes were stopping, sending the content energies going amok. That is your doing, though we did not know you wielded such power as I have just seen. Why do you terrorize us so? You are a higher being; you should be benevolent, and caring, and productive." 

"Avarinika…yes, you may call me that." The voice said. "But the perpetrator behind your disasters is not me. It is my brother. He seeks the Heart of Gold inside the core of Metru Nui. I try to stop him, but he is strong. Stronger than even I. I am here to apologize…and tell you what I know. You may be the only one with the power to defeat him. I am body, but you are spirit. I will tell you what I know of him." 

Naho winced. Lhikan never said anything about a brother. And he said that the Avarinika was evil…Naho wondered what the Fire Toa's reaction would be when she reported this to him. 

"His name is …his name is different than mine. He is not body but something different. He is energy. But not any energy- a different energy " 

"Tell me more, Avarinika. Where can I find this brother …of yours? What is his name? How can we defeat him?" 

Avarinika did not reply for a moment. And then, his voice came in stutters: "I- I apologize- I must leave now! He is- my brother- he is here! He is- I go…" and just like that, the voice vanished. Once again, the only sound was the rushing of the canals and Naho's own thoughts.  
>She looked to the horizon; a good amount of minutes had passed, and the light was giving. <p>

Avarinika had said something about his brother. But who was this brother? Avarinika said that he was here. 

Her grip tightening on her staff, Naho slowly turned around, her eyes once again going cautiously over every part of the surrounding metru. Nothing stood out of the ordinary. Suddenly, Naho felt an itch in her ear. She lifted a hand to scratch it, naturally, but her arm froze in mid-air. But then the itch stopped. 

As soon as it had stopped, the particles in her ear began to vibrate, making a whisper noise right into her ear. It was Avarinika. 

"He is in the protodam near the Vecan School. I do not think he feels my presence, nor yours. I predict you can peek him if you try, but retreat seems a more prudent option, Toa." 

Naho gulped. She wanted achingly to see who this "brother" was, but Avarinika was correct: retreat was more prudent. "Wait." She whispered. "How can I trust you?" 

"If I were against you, you would be dead right now, Naho. I am being. I am body. If I were malicious, I could destroy this island before any Toa had the chance to say "Karzahni"." 

He was right. He'd demonstrated his power to Naho, and he could use it to do anything he wanted. He could take over Metru Nui in no time. She knew she could- or rather, had to –trust him.  
>"Your brother," she said. "Is he not vast, as you are? Or is he a compact being?" <p>

"He is indeed compact as you are, Toa." 

"Then why can you not control his body?" 

"His body is not physical, but rather energy. He walks in a dimension different than this one, but the pressurization of his energy allows him to have a similar-to-physical connection to this world. But I cannot access that pressurization." 

"…Can you protect us if he attacks?" 

Aye, I ca-" Avarinika stopped cold in his words. Naho blinked. "What?" 

In a hollow, frightened voice that noted dire urgency, Avarinika whispered, "He is here."  
>It was only then that Naho noticed the shift in the atmosphere; the notification of another presence. And there was another thing, she noticed: the presence was behind her. <p>

Naho spun around, to see a tall, dark figure, a mask's-height taller than herself, standing across the bridge. The figures armor was pitch black, with red streaks running along the limbs, and long, brassy claws with spiked joint armor, and a mask …and behind that mask, those eyes.  
>Naho could feel a coldness clutch her heart. Fighting a sudden urge to scream- which, she reckoned, was induced by Avarinika's control over her body – she swallowed hard, slowly feeling her armor alienate from her nerves. <p>

"I am here." The black figure said. He then said something else, but the next thing she saw was the being lunge forward, dark sword drawn, and the blade streaking towards her. She felt the instant pain, and then the life seeping out of her. 

And then: a vision. One that she would never, ever forget.  
>#<p>

At first, there was only darkness. 

And then: a twisting, swirling matrix of azure revolving around her, streaks of light portraying contour, a heaviness of shade giving substance. Naho tried to move but found her body did not react to her command. Or…no…did she even have a body?  
>Naho looked down. Nothing. Only the twisting darkness as the vortex dropped. Down farther, and farther. <p>

Then, something else: a blinding yellow light coaxed a hole in the vortex, shining its rays through the twisting matrix, only to be reflected off an invisible, glossy surface that made a cage around Naho. It was small, smaller than she would have expected. The blue nebula was now gone. 

Suddenly, the hole in the cage where the light was shining in from darkened as the silhouette of a tall, unidentified figure approached. Getting closer closer. When the figure entered, the light revealed it to be a Toa of Water. There was an aura about her strong, benevolent great. Much greater than Naho herself, or Tuyet, or even Lhikan! 

"My name is Helryx. I know who you are, Naho, and I know your future. It is dark, but I can illuminate it. You are needed in the future I need you."  
>Naho blinked, confused. "What do you mean?" <p>

The Toa of Water- Helryx, as she had said –looked to where should be a ground, or a floor- any below surface on which one would stand on. Then she said, "In fifteen years, Naho, you will be sent on a mission outside of Metru Nui, and you will die on that mission. In truth, your mind will be transported to a dimension called the Fields of Enra. You will be lost, but you will- you must- find a way. Once you do, you will find a stone. A stone that will transport you back to our world. You will be needed, Toa. So you must find that stone." 

She looked up and directly into Naho's eyes. "The figure you just met has killed you. But the energy I hold is enough to revive you. You are needed just a little longer."  
>Then, Helryx turned and began to pace you away. But before she disappeared into the shining light, she turned and said, "You must find that stone. <p>

"FIND IT." 

**Fifteen Years Later**

Turaga Dume paced through the room, tapping the shaft of his rod onto his left palm pensively, frowning behind his Noble Kiril and obviously deep in thought. 

Naho stood by the threshold of the room, watching him carefully. "You summoned me, Turaga?" 

"Aye, indeed I did, Toa Naho." Dume said, stopping in his tracks and turning to face the Toa of Water. "Something has roused to the east, forty mios offshore of Metru Nui. There is an island there, called Niaska. Its surface is pure silver. I believe an energy is rousing there…it is unidentified, but it has been confirmed as non-hostile. I would like you to investigate it." 

"Of course, Turaga."  
>"Very well. Meet with the Vahki in the lower level. They will supply you with a boat and all the equipment you need to set out on your inspection. Fare well, Toa Naho." <p>

"I will be back, Turaga. Before then, please fare well."

And that was the day when Naho set out on her adventure from Metru Nui, led by the false Turaga Dume who was truly the Makuta in disguise, to an island she knew naught about. It took her three days and three nights, and after that, was the day that she had died, and was sent to the Fields of Enra. And since then, she has been searching for the stone that Helryx told her to find. She has never forgotten that vision of the great Toa of Water. 

And she has never forgotten those words uttered from the black figure all those years back, the figure who the Avarinika said to be his brother. The black figure had said six words. The first three had been: "I am here". 

The last three would haunt her dreams forever, though she knew not what they meant, just that they carried dread. 

And those very words were: 

"I am Icarax."


End file.
